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The Herta
Ice
Erudition
5-Star
Character Guides
Build Guide
Level-Up Materials
Team Composition
Optimal Light Cones
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The Herta, often referred to as Madam Herta, stands as a formidable 5-Star Ice Erudition character in Honkai: Star Rail. As an Emanator of Nous, the Aeon of Erudition, she holds the 83rd position in the prestigious Genius Society and established the Herta Space Station. The numerous Herta puppets encountered across the station, including the playable 4-star version, are all crafted in the likeness of her younger self.
Being an Erudition specialist, The Herta naturally thrives in AoE combat scenarios while maintaining solid performance against fewer targets. She possesses remarkable self-buffing capabilities and substantial damage multipliers, featuring an 80% team-wide CRIT DMG boost when paired with another Erudition unit and a personal three-turn ATK enhancement from her Ultimate. Consequently, The Herta demands relatively modest investment to build effectively and offers multiple F2P-friendly options for Light Cones and team compositions.
Herta's combat mechanics center on accumulating Inspiration stacks for herself while building Interpretation stacks on enemies. Consuming an Inspiration stack enables her to unleash a powered-up version of her Skill. Meanwhile, her Talent and Traces ensure that as enemies gather more Interpretation stacks, the damage from her Enhanced Skill and Ultimate escalates accordingly. With these mechanics in mind, here's a concise overview of optimal build choices to maximize The Herta's impressive capabilities in Honkai: Star Rail.
Optimizing The Herta's Build in Honkai: Star Rail
Light Cones
Relic Sets
Primary Stats
- (S1) Into the Unreachable Veil (Best-in-Slot)
- (S1) Night on the Milky Way (5-Target Scenarios)
- (S5) Today is Another Peaceful Day
- (S1) Before Dawn (Strong Stat Option)
- (S1) An Instant Before A Gaze
- (S5) Geniuses' Repose
- (S1) Yet Hope Is Priceless (Stat-Focused)
- (S5) Eternal Calculus
- (S5) The Day the Cosmos Fell
- (S5) The Seriousness of Breakfast
Relic Sets:
- 4pc Scholar Lost in Erudition (Best-in-Slot)
- 4pc Hunter of Glacial Forest
- 2pc combinations of CRIT Rate, Ice DMG, or ATK%
Planar Ornaments:
- Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm (Overall Best)
- Rutilant Arena
- Sigonia, the Unclaimed Desolation (Pure Fiction Specialization)
- Body: CRIT Rate
- Feet: ATK% or SPD
- Planar Sphere: Ice DMG or ATK%
- Link Rope: ATK%
Selecting The Ideal Relics for The Herta
When constructing The Herta's build, she typically benefits from the classic offensive trio: ATK, CRIT Rate, and CRIT DMG. Additionally, since her Enhanced Skill and Ultimate deliver the majority of her damage output, any enhancements to these abilities prove highly valuable. While SPD can be advantageous for The Herta, its importance largely depends on team composition and synergy.
Consequently, The Herta's optimal Relic set is the aptly named Scholar Lost in Erudition. This set provides an 8% CRIT Rate increase alongside a 20% damage boost to both her Skill and Ultimate. To further complement her kit, the set grants an additional 25% damage increase to the next Skill used after activating an Ultimate. The Herta's Ultimate, "Told Ya! Magic Happens," not only grants an Inspiration stack to empower her Skill but also enables immediate action to utilize it.
The Herta can potentially utilize the Poet of Mourning Collapse set by avoiding SPD Trace upgrades and SPD substats. However, this approach proves challenging to execute and isn't recommended for most players.
For those who haven't acquired the Scholar Lost in Erudition set, the Hunter of Glacial Forest serves as a reliable alternative. While not as potent as the Scholar set, it remains a strong choice, providing 10% Ice DMG boost and 25% CRIT DMG increase for two turns following Ultimate usage. That said, farming Scholar Lost in Erudition generally offers better efficiency, as it shares its Cavern of Corrosion with Sacerdos' Relived Ordeal, an excellent support-focused Relic set.
Newer players or those with limited resources can utilize 2-piece combinations of CRIT Rate, Ice DMG, or ATK% as effective temporary solutions until acquiring stronger sets.
For Planar Ornaments, the Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm set delivers the best overall performance for The Herta. This set provides a 12% ATK boost plus an additional 12% CRIT Rate when paired with another ally sharing her Path. When teamed with an Erudition partner, The Herta's Talent amplifies Interpretation stack damage multipliers, while her A4 Trace grants all allies 80% CRIT DMG and increases Interpretation stack application for Erudition units. The value extends to The Herta's Erudition teammate, who can also equip and benefit from Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm.
Rutilant Arena presents an excellent alternative, offering 8% CRIT Rate and 20% Skill damage enhancement. This set's performance closely rivals Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm, with minor gaps easily compensated by well-rolled substats. Additionally, Rutilant Arena's versatility makes it popular among numerous game characters, rendering it a practical farming choice.
Finally, Sigonia, the Unclaimed Desolation can surpass both sets specifically in Pure Fiction. However, this set isn't generally recommended since The Herta excels across various game modes while Sigonia doesn't. That said, since Sigonia shares farming location with Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm, players might maintain a dedicated Sigonia set exclusively for Pure Fiction content.
Recommended Stat Targets for The Herta
2,500-2,800 ATK (with SPD Boots)
3,000-3,400 ATK (with ATK% Boots)
3,600-3,900 ATK (with ATK% Boots & Sphere)
Base SPD or 134 SPD
80%-100% CRIT Rate (During Combat)
180%-200%+ CRIT DMG (with A4 Trace)
Since The Herta's A4 Trace provides 80% CRIT DMG during combat, most players should equip a CRIT Rate body piece to approach the ideal 100% CRIT Rate threshold. Players can also utilize support characters like Sunday or Remembrance Trailblazer to address any CRIT Rate deficiencies as needed.
Regarding SPD, The Herta functions effectively at multiple breakpoints, so her required SPD depends heavily on available teammates and Eidolons. Since The Herta relies on allies to generate Interpretation stacks and Energy, she remains effective even at base SPD, particularly when paired with suitable characters. For instance, Jade, one of her premier Erudition partners, provides a 30 SPD boost while helping accumulate stacks efficiently through Follow-Up Attacks.
The Energy provided to The Herta through her A2 and A4 Traces is fixed and remains unaffected by Energy Regeneration Ropes.
The Herta's Eidolons further enhance her functionality without SPD boots. Her E1 enables reaching the 42 Interpretation stack threshold of her A2 Trace with only 28 stacks, while E2 grants action advances each time she uses her Enhanced Skill. Furthermore, E4 provides all Erudition teammates with 12% SPD increase, allowing The Herta to realistically achieve the 134 SPD breakpoint without SPD boots.
Naturally, with SPD boots and appropriate teammates, The Herta can also excel at higher SPD thresholds like 146 and 164.
Top Light Cone Choices for The Herta
The Herta's definitive best Light Cone is her signature weapon, Into the Unreachable Veil, which boasts the highest base ATK among current Erudition Light Cones. At S1, this Light Cone provides 12% CRIT Rate alongside substantial 60% damage boost to both Skill and Ultimate for three turns after Ultimate activation. Additionally, if the Ultimate requires 140 or more Energy, it recovers one Skill Point. These attributes align perfectly with The Herta's needs while providing valuable utility for Skill Point-intensive team compositions.
Beyond her signature Light Cone, The Herta has several viable alternatives. Night on the Milky Way offers second-highest potential provided both effects remain consistently active. An Instant Before A Gaze serves as another solid 5-star option, enhancing CRIT DMG and Ultimate damage. While The Herta cannot utilize Follow-Up Attack buffs, both Before Dawn and Yet Hope Is Priceless function as powerful stat sticks. The former boosts CRIT DMG, Skill damage, and Ultimate damage, while the latter provides substantial CRIT Rate increase.
Night on the Milky Way's effectiveness decreases substantially when facing fewer than four enemies or when its DMG bonus isn't active.
Among 4-star options, Today Is Another Peaceful Day and Geniuses' Repose emerge as excellent choices, particularly for F2P and budget-conscious players. Despite being a 4-star Light Cone, Today Is Another Peaceful Day at S5 can outperform numerous non-signature 5-star options while maintaining greater consistency than Night on the Milky Way.
For beginners with limited options, the freely available Erudition Light Cones—Eternal Calculus, The Day The Cosmos Fell, and The Seriousness of Breakfast—all serve as functional choices for The Herta and can eventually be obtained at maximum superimposition.
